A Froelich Farms family story: a daughter’s sourdough journey, from her mother’s kitchen to fresh-milled wheat grown on the farm yields to a tradition of nutrition.
I can still picture my mom’s kitchen thick with the smell of rising dough: cinnamon rolls cooling on the counter, a kuchen in the oven, a loaf of bread waiting its turn. Mom was an author, a gardener, a wife and mother, and an incredible cook in her own right, but it was her baking, especially her breads, that I remember best.
I didn’t expect to fall for bread-making the way I have. But I’m fortunate to live on a farm where we grow a variety of grains that can be milled into flour and experimenting with recipes has become something of a focus for me.
Last year, my sister Mary introduced my brother, sister-in-law and me to the joys of sourdough baking. She patiently taught us how to craft artisan bread, using that age-old secret ingredient. I was thrilled at first and made several eager attempts. But artisan sourdough asks for a lot of steps and a lot of patience, and I’ll admit that patience isn’t my strong suit. Eventually, I lost interest — and lost my starter along with it.
Still, I kept baking bread, working with unbleached flour from Montana alongside our own freshly milled Khorasan wheat, winter wheat as well as a blend of sorghum and oats — both grown right here at Froelich Farms. There’s something different about baking with grain you’ve grown yourself; it made the whole habit feel like it belonged to our farm as much as to me. My husband, meanwhile, has become a terrific supporter of my newest culinary obsession.
More recently, I found my way back to sourdough. This time, I learned to build a starter from scratch, working it into something robust enough with which to bake. That sent me back to the search for good recipes, which led me to a wonderful method from Amy Coyne on her website amybakesbread.com.
Using Amy’s recipe, I’ve tried several variations, including a blend of whole wheat and Montana unbleached white flour, freshly ground whole wheat, an egg wash, a coconut milk wash, and a bagel seasoning blend. Yesterday I baked the dough in loaf pans instead, and once again, got a soft, delightful crumb that was easy to slice and light in texture. Her recipe, One Hour Sourdough Discard Burger Buns, is one I highly recommend.
If you are Interested in starting your own sourdough starter from scratch, there are several options out there. Emilie Raffa offers a recipe, Beginner Sourdough Starter Recipe, on her website The Clever Carrot.
On his website The Perfect Loaf, Maurizio Leo shares some compelling insights in his post “7 Easy Steps to Making an Incredible Sourdough Starter From Scratch.”
To get started with the latest sourdough journey, I used freshly ground winter wheat from Froelich Farms. After two days, I began using a blend of Montana white unbleached flour and Froelich Farms winter wheat until the starter was ready to use.
Where this new hobby takes me next remains to be seen. For now, though, I’d say there’s a real possibility for a good PB&J in my future.
